November 28, 1961 Ernest Davis became the first African American to be awarded the Heisman Trophy as college football’s top player of the year. Davis was born December 14, 1939 in New Salem, Pennsylvania, but raised in Elmira, New York. He attended Syracuse University where he was a running back from 1959 to 1961, winning […]
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November 27th in African American History – Walter Fenner “Buck” Leonard
November 27, 1997 Walter Fenner “Buck” Leonard, hall of fame Negro league baseball player, died. Leonard was born September 8, 1907 in Rocky Mount, North Carolina. He left school at the age of 14 because no high school education was available to black children in his hometown.
November 27th in African American History – William Karnet Willis
November 27, 2007 William Karnet Willis, hall of fame football player, died. Willis was born October 5, 1921 in Columbus, Ohio. He played college football at Ohio State University and in 1944 was named an All-American. After graduating in 1945, Willis took a job as the head football coach at Kentucky State College.
November 25th in African American History – George D. Webster
November 25, 1945 George D. Webster, college hall of fame football player, was born in Anderson, South Carolina. Webster played defensive back for Michigan State University from 1964 to 1966 and was an All-American his last two years. Webster was selected by the Houston Oilers in the 1967 American Football League Draft and was the […]
November 24th in African American History – David Bing
November 24, 1943 David Bing, hall of fame basketball player and Mayor of the City of Detroit, was born in Washington, D.C. Bing attended Syracuse University where he led the basketball team in scoring each of the years he played and in 1966 was named an All-American. Bing earned his Bachelor of Arts degree in […]
November 22nd in African American History – Daedra Janel Charles
November 22, 1968 Daedra Janel Charles, hall of fame basketball player, was born in Detroit, Michigan. Charles played high school basketball at St. Martin de Porres and college basketball at the University of Tennessee. In 1991, she won the Margaret Wade Trophy as the best player in women’s college basketball and was a finalist for […]
November 21st in African American History – Vernon Earl Monroe
November 21, 1944 Vernon Earl Monroe, hall of fame basketball player known as “Earl the Pearl,” was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. At an early age, Monroe was a playground legend known as “Thomas Edison” because of the many moves that he invented. In 1967, while playing for Winston-Salem State University, he earned NCAA College Division […]